Car Advice Please :-)

[melissa15531]

I have a 08 Chevy Silverado that I owe $14,000 on. I have 2 more years to pay on it at 2.9%. My dilema is that my husband was unemployrd and we had no income for 2 months. The bank worked with us, and now my husband had found a job. He will not get a paycheck until the end of January. I cannot make January's payment of $463 and I don't think Chevy will work with me. Now I have a friend who will buy my truck for $17500, but I know it is worth more according to KBB. I was thinking of taking it to Carmax and selling it out right. Would you sell it for the $17500 or take it to Carmax where you could get $2000 more for it? Would you sell it at all? I would then need to buy another vehicle because this is my only one. I was hoping to get a new car with a lower payment and use the excess cash from my truck to pay some bills. I really need help on this. Thanks!

[emanon1501]

If your credit is already trashed, then one more month will not make a difference.

If you want to get out of payments, then sell it as quickly as you can. I did that before and I lost thousands, but I protected my credit. What makes you think Carmax will offer you more? In any event, its all about the timing. If you need to get out fast, then get out fast. Otherwise, take your time to find the best deal.

[photo]

Originally Posted by melissa15531

Would you sell it for the $17500 or take it to Carmax where you could get $2000 more for it?

I don't think you can sell it, can you? Whoever buys it will want the title, which you do not own. Whoever financed your car is the owner.

[emanon1501]

Originally Posted by photo

I don't think you can sell it, can you? Whoever buys it will want the title, which you do not own. Whoever financed your car is the owner.

That don't make sense, a person can sell their car even if their is a loan on it. The lender will release the title once the loan is paid off. OP has a offer that is more than what is owed, so OP can sell it.

[melissa15531]

Originally Posted by photo

I don't think you can sell it, can you? Whoever buys it will want the title, which you do not own. Whoever financed your car is the owner.

Yes I can sell it. All we have to do is go through a dealer. That's no problem :-)

[melissa15531]

Originally Posted by emanon1501

If your credit is already trashed, then one more month will not make a difference.

If you want to get out of payments, then sell it as quickly as you can. I did that before and I lost thousands, but I protected my credit. What makes you think Carmax will offer you more? In any event, its all about the timing. If you need to get out fast, then get out fast. Otherwise, take your time to find the best deal.

No my credit is not crashed and that is what I am trying to avoid. I sold a truck to Carmax during the summer and they made me a great deal. That's why I am considering going to them again, but it is a 120 mile trip.

[photo]

Originally Posted by melissa15531

Yes I can sell it. All we have to do is go through a dealer. That's no problem :-)

So no private deals? (I'm learning here, too.)

[emanon1501]

Originally Posted by photo

So no private deals? (I'm learning here, too.)

You can do private deals. I have done it several time. Just inform the buyer that you have a loan and that you will need to work with the bank. The buyer may feel a little bit safer as they know they will get the actual title, not some kind of scam. I usually have the buyer meet me at my bank with their cashier check, so we can close out with the banker and do the paper work there.

[melissa15531]

Originally Posted by emanon1501

You can do private deals. I have done it several time. Just inform the buyer that you have a loan and that you will need to work with the bank. The buyer may feel a little bit safer as they know they will get the actual title, not some kind of scam. I usually have the buyer meet me at my bank with their cashier check, so we can close out with the banker and do the paper work there.

I have a private buyer already. He used to work at a Honda dealership so we would transfer it there. I was thinking about buying a Honda then, but I don't know what to do

[emanon1501]

Originally Posted by melissa15531

I have a private buyer already. He used to work at a Honda dealership so we would transfer it there. I was thinking about buying a Honda then, but I don't know what to do

So, you are replacing one car payment with another car payment? How will that help? Can you just sell it and use the difference to buy something decent with cash.

[bjl584]

Originally Posted by melissa15531

I have a 08 Chevy Silverado that I owe $14,000 on. I have 2 more years to pay on it at 2.9%. My dilema is that my husband was unemployrd and we had no income for 2 months. The bank worked with us, and now my husband had found a job. He will not get a paycheck until the end of January. I cannot make January's payment of $463 and I don't think Chevy will work with me. Now I have a friend who will buy my truck for $17500, but I know it is worth more according to KBB. I was thinking of taking it to Carmax and selling it out right. Would you sell it for the $17500 or take it to Carmax where you could get $2000 more for it? Would you sell it at all? I would then need to buy another vehicle because this is my only one. I was hoping to get a new car with a lower payment and use the excess cash from my truck to pay some bills. I really need help on this. Thanks!

Being that you are in a bind, I would sell to the individual for $17,500 and be done with it. Assuming that he has the money or can get the financing, then sell it and be done with it. Then buy something that you can afford. You can try to get a few more thousand by listing it and selling it to someone else, but trust me when I tell you, newer vehicles that are above $10,000 can be for sale for a long time. Above 10K, a lot of people don't have the money or can't get financed. Your truck may be reposessed long before you find a buyer. Sell it now, take the hit, and get yourself out of debt.

[JustBill]

If you know this truck, need a truck, and think it's the vehicle for you for 3-4 more years, then I would do anything to locate the money for January's payment. You state you cannot be without a vehicle. Not knowing the true condition of any replacement vehicle in that price range, can quickly cost significant money. If you sell this one, and turn around in February and buy another one for about the same bucks, you'll probably be paying multiples of the January $460 payment in sales tax, registration, license, and fricking dealer documentation fees and the like. This might be one of the rare instances that I would consider a credit card cash advance to make that January payment, and then repay that CCCA when spouse gets the paycheck.

[melissa15531]

OK so Carmax offered me $19000 for my truck. That will pay it off and give me $5000. We are trying to decide whether to buy a new car with a lower payment or a cheap junker and bank some cash and catch up on some bills.

[maat55]

Originally Posted by melissa15531

OK so Carmax offered me $19000 for my truck. That will pay it off and give me $5000. We are trying to decide whether to buy a new car with a lower payment or a cheap junker and bank some cash and catch up on some bills.

Personally, I would pay cash and start a car fund. I love having paid for cars and a car fund.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by melissa15531

OK so Carmax offered me $19000 for my truck. That will pay it off and give me $5000. We are trying to decide whether to buy a new car with a lower payment or a cheap junker and bank some cash and catch up on some bills.

Why would you possibly even consider taking on another car payment? Learn from the mistake you made with this truck. Sell it for 19K and take 5K and buy a nice used car. No reason to buy a cheap junker at all.

[Hector]

Originally Posted by melissa15531

OK so Carmax offered me $19000 for my truck. That will pay it off and give me $5000. We are trying to decide whether to buy a new car with a lower payment or a cheap junker and bank some cash and catch up on some bills.

I would buy a used car worth 5k or less.

[mrpaseo]

Carmax has great deals on used vehicles, I would sell to them or better yet, work out a trade (You would get $5000 profit if you sold your truck but they might give you $6000 trade value).

The bottom line, sell the truck to Carmax, get a new car for $5,000 or less... then, pay yourself the car payment into an interest bearing account. So, if your payments were $450, then save $450 a month into an account. Let the money grow for 10 months, this will give you $4,500. Take your $5,000 dollar vehicle and your $4,500 cash and trade it in for a $9,500 vehicle.

Continue to save the $450 a month, wait 10 more months and take that $4,500 and your $9,500 vehicle and trade that in for a $$14,000 dollar vehicle. I'm sure you are catching on by now. If you do it this way, you will never pay interest to anyone... you will earn interest.

This is Dave Ramsey's plan not mine. There is a pretty good video on his site. If you can stick to the plan, it's sound.

Ray

[pdweaver]

Sometimes banks will let you skip a payment for a fee. I know you said you didn't think they would work with you, but have you pressed the idea to the collection department? Sometimes if you complain long enough, specifically to the collection department they will let you skip 1 payment a year for a $30-50 fee. Try this first. If they will not work with you then sell the car to Carmax and buy a used car for $14-16000. You can purchase a nice vehicle for this price and have money to spare.

[Shewillbemine]

Sell the truck and use the leftovers to buy a reliable, beater car. I suggest a Honda Civic.

The fact that you are considering a NEW vehicle for a LOWER MONTHLY payment suggests you need to study auto loans and interest further.

Free yourself from the cyclical debt of car loans and watch your wealth go up. Trust me, I'm coming from a very nice BMW and 6 cars in 4 years because I was THAT GUY who had to have the nicest vehicles and only thought of my monthly payments.

Fast forward to today--I drive a beater Acura and am loving putting away 4 figures into my savings every month. Not having a car payment or any other debt does wonders for your bank account, self esteem, financial security, etc...

[mmtprofile]

Just ask yourself what you can learn from this so it doesn't happen again.

I don't want to steer you in the wrong direction. I would say sell the truck and buy a cheaper vehicle with the cash but I don't know your situation enough.

I always recommend to cut expenses and manage money. Create a contingency or emergency fund for next time.

Just build the habit of saving with these accounts:
Investment -1%
Savings for Spending - 1%
Fun - 1%
Education - 1%
Charity - 1%
Necessity - 95%


I hope that these help you out! :-)